Former G League Ignite and Westchester Knicks defenseman/forward Dinka Pate is returning to the G League after giving up his bid to spend the 2026/27 season playing for Providence, according to Kevin McNamara of KevinMcSports.com.
Pate, who signed an Exhibit 10 contract with New York last fall after going undrafted in 2025, devoted to Providence in the spring after reportedly turning down offers for a 10-day, two-way contract last season. However, his NCAA eligibility has not yet been decided, so he decided to withdraw from school to secure a spot in the G League early, McNamara explains, noting that Pate could sign a contract Agreement 10 within the next day or two to get a bonus in addition to his NBAGL salary.
While it’s possible Pate would eventually be eligible to play for Providence, it wasn’t a lock, and he didn’t want to risk being denied after G League teams formed their rosters for the upcoming season, McNamara wrote.
We’ve got more odds and ends from around the world of basketball:
- In addition to formally confirming that Jason Kidd has was hired as an ESPN studio and game analyst announced on Thursday that former NBA guard Jeremy Lin joined the network’s commentary team. According to ESPN, Lin will serve as a game analyst in addition to appearing on NBA Today.
- Mike Varkunow of The Athletic and ESPN’s David Purdum shared news about various NBA-related gambling cases, with Varkunov reporting that three of the remaining five defendants are connected to Malik Beasley/Edward Davies case They are expected to plead guilty, although that group does not include Beasley himself. Purdum’s report shows that Shane Hanen, a Las Vegas sports bettor who was indicted in three separate cases, pleaded guilty to sports bribery, aiding and abetting, and conspiracy charges related to wire fraud and money laundering in two of those cases, including one of Terry Rozier.
- In a series of articles on the 2026/27 NBA season, ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill defines the 10 people who will define the season, ESPN’s Zach Crum ranks all 30 NBA teams based on how desperate they are to win right now, and Chris Mannix of SI.com solicits feedback on all 30 clubs from competing scouts. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Bobby Marks breaks down the biggest contract extension decisions to watch before Monday’s deadline.